


Wives in My Garden

by MeticulousMew



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: (Wait magic's not real), (but not actual magic), Actually no high seas, Adventure, And like it's only an office adventure, Clarke Griffin/Lexa - Freeform, Clexa, F/F, High Seas!, I mean, Lovable Clarke, Private Lexa, Romance, So no adventure either, Will they fall in love?, anyway, it's a fanfic, office magic, so....
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-15 02:54:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9215546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeticulousMew/pseuds/MeticulousMew
Summary: All Lexa (thinks she) wants to do is mind her own business and be left alone to do her work in peace. All Clarke can see is a fascinating mystery of a person that she HAS to get to know. Fate keeps throwing them into awkward situations. Thanks a lot, fate.Or maybe it's their annoying coworkers, who have a penchant for pranks.





	

“Why is it,” the blonde huffed as she walked uninvited through the office door. “That everyone on this floor has a centrally located mail slot, but YOUR mail has to be hand-delivered?” 

Lexa watched the girl approach her desk with a mail cart and begin unloading a number of interoffice envelopes and small packages. She arched her brow.

“Are you new around here?”

The blonde smiled and paused her unloading so she could stick out a hand. “Yep! I’m Clarke, the newest Mailroom Clerk.”

Lexa leaned across her desk and slipped her palm in Clarke’s. “Welcome aboard, Clarke. I’m-“

“Lexa Woods, I know. I deliver your mail.” She grinned cheekily. Surprised flashed across Lexa’s face and Clarke laughed, then gave her a sheepish grin. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be a sarcastic shit. That’s a terrible way to make a good first impression.”

Lexa fought the smile growing across her own face. “Indeed. Sarcasm is most unwelcome here.” She looked at Clarke with a neutral expression and Clarke stared back, clearly not sure if Lexa was joking or scolding her. When Lexa’s mouth twitched, a grin spread across the blonde’s face and they both chuckled.

Clarke turned back to her mail cart and began to pull the remaining items for Lexa.

“So what do you do around here, Woods? I mean, you must be pretty important if you have your own office with a DOOR and we have to hand-deliver your mail.” Clarke looked up at her expectantly.

Lexa moved a stack of papers and pointed to a placard on her desk that had previously been buried.

 

**LEXA WOODS**

_Auditor_

 

Clarke read it, then looked back up at Lexa, clearly still not making the connection between the title and the answer to her question.

Lexa sighed and leaned back to explain. “Because this company is subject to intense government scrutiny, all funds must be… meticulously… accounted for. It’s also important to ensure company funds don’t go to waste since we receive a lot of donated monies. To that end, the company contracts out the auditing services that my company provides. I’m an internal auditor, meaning my full time job is to continually audit the company throughout the year so that when the government decides on a random audit every one to three years, the company has everything ready and in order. Mail is delivered directly to me for the sake of security.”

Clarke plopped uninvited into one of the chairs opposite Lexa’s desk and frowned.

“Wow. That sounds like a lot of numbers and accounting and… well, opportunities to piss people off. They must hate you around here.”

Once again caught off guard by Clarke’s raw honesty, Lexa actually smiled this time.

“I imagine so. I don’t mingle much with the employees here except to hold them accountable, so…”

“Yeah, ouch. That’s a recipe for disaster right there. I don’t think I could do a job like that. I mean to each their own I guess, but I couldn’t imagine going to work and not talking to people I know and like.”

Lexa frowned again. “Yes, I suppose this job does lack a certain element of socialization, but then… auditing, by nature, doesn’t really lend itself to intermingling with coworkers.”

“Psshhh, what?” Clarke turned herself sideways and hooked a leg over the arm of her chair. She leaned her head back and looked at Lexa. “You can’t NOT make friends with your coworkers, Woods, or you’ll go crazy. There has to be someone here that you hang out with or get along with.”

Lexa simply gave Clarke a tight-lipped smile and said nothing.

“Wait, seriously?” Clarke sat up and leaned forward. Lexa leaned back and folded her hands on her desk.

“You really don’t hang out with anyone here? How long have you worked at ProPaxa?”

“Ah… I’ve been contracting here for four years but-“

“Oh my god, Woods!” Clarke interrupted, aghast. “You can’t LIVE like that!” she gestured dramatically. “We’re going to have to be friends, I think. When is your lunch?”

A grim look settled on Lexa’s face and she held up a hand. “I’m sorry Clarke, I should clarify and, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I wasn’t clear. It’s important to understand that the position of auditor actually mandates a certain interpersonal distance between myself and the company I audit. It’s to ensure professional integrity. We cannot be friends or have lunch together. Do you… understand?”

Clarke’s face was flushing red as Lexa spoke and when she finished, Clarke jumped to her feet. “Of course, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to presume anything. Sorry, Lexa. I totally understand.” She grabbed her mail cart and started to wheel it toward the door to the office

Was she embarrassed? Lexa groaned inwardly. And Clarke had been SO sweet. And funny. And damnit.

“Hey Clarke?”

The girl looked up.

“Just so you know, I would have loved to have lunch with you.”

If it was possible, Clarke’s face flushed an even deeper red. She gave Lexa a tiny smile, then was gone. Lexa smacked her pen down on the desk and sighed heavily. She ran her hands through her hair and leaned back in her chair.

 

* * *

 

Clarke wheeled her empty cart back into the mailroom and straightened her back. She looked around and caught sight of her boss, Niylah. She was sitting at her desk in one of the six mailroom cubicles on the far wall of the large room. Clarke wound around machinery that sorted, filled, sealed and even opened the company’s mass amounts of daily mail. 

“Hey Niylah!” She called out as she approached the other girl. Clearly not expecting the interruption, Niylah jumped and Clarke watched as hot coffee sloshed itself all down her shirt.

“Ow! Oh my god! Shit!” Niylah frantically began searching for something to dab at her shirt. Clarke ran to the kitchenette and got some paper towels. She wet them and brought them to Niylah, who looked panicked.

“Here, let me help! I’m so sorry!” Clarke began dabbing at Niylah’s shirt. Niylah went still and looked up at her and Clarke realized what she was doing. “Oh my god, sorry. Sorry.” She pulled her hand away from Niylah’s chest and shoved the napkins into her hand before stepping back.

“I just wanted to let you know I was going to lunch. Sorry. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Niylah simply nodded and watched as Clarke left the mailroom.

As Clarke was leaving, she berated herself internally. “Get it together, Clarke” she said under her breath as she turned a corner. She was on the floor before she even realized she had collided with another person.

“Oh, wow, I’m so sorry Clarke! Let me help you up!” She looked up to see a hand stretched out to her. She didn’t recognize the bulky man with curly hair that was attached to it. She took his hand and stood.

“Thank you – sorry about that. I was in my head there… have we met?”

“No, I don’t think so. I’m Bellamy, in copy.”

“Hi Bellamy, it’s good to meet you. How did you know my name was Clarke?”

“Oh, umm…” He grinned sheepishly. “I heard you telling yourself to get it together as you came around the corner…”

Clarke felt her face flushing once again. She groaned and leaned back against the wall, hiding her face in her hands. Bellamy grinned.

“Hey, it’s ok. You’re new, right? It’s never easy starting a new job. You won’t get everything right.”

Clarke looked up at him with a miserable expression. “I can’t get ANYTHING right though. It’s not going well. I just went to tell my boss I was going to lunch and made her spill her coffee and then…” She trailed off and her face flushed again. “… and I forgot to bring my lunch and…” She felt she was near tears, which just upset her more.

“Hey hey hey, don’t beat yourself up. Listen, I’m just headed to lunch myself. Why don’t you join me – we can grab something from the deli and go to the lunch patio. You can tell me all about this horrible day you’re having. Yeah?”

Clarke shook her head “I wouldn’t want to intrude…”

“Don’t be silly. C’mon, let’s go.” He started walking off and there was nothing for Clarke to do but follow.

 

* * *

 

Lexa and Anya stepped out onto the roof patio in the warm sunshine with their lunches and laptops and made their way down the line, looking for a table. ProPaxa had built a long series of covered stalls with lunch tables (about twelve in total) that were angled so they got sunshine, but it didn’t quite get in your face. They were partitioned off with tall walls, which afforded some privacy. It was a popular lunch spot and they had to go to the very end to find an available stall. Lexa put her back to the stall behind her and Anya sat opposite her at the end of the row. 

Behind them in the next stall, Lexa recognized the voices of Raven, Octavia and Monty, who were engaged in a very serious fantasy football discussion. She was pretty sure they didn’t even notice her and Anya walking by. She rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the turkey wrap that was calling her name. Her and Anya didn’t have much to say – both liked to work during lunch, so their laptops came up and they began clacking away, only exchanging brief, quiet comments regarding work-related items.

Lexa’s ears perked up, however, when she heard a gravelly voice that sounded familiar. She tried to place it when she heard Blake announce “Guys, this is Clarke…?”

“Griffin,” she filled in.

“She’s new, works in the mailroom. Scoot over so we can sit.”

 

Various greetings were exchanged and she heard the group introduce themselves, all talking over each other.

 

“Hi Griffin, I’m Raven. Associate Engineer.”

“And Fantasy Football Commissioner!” Monty.

“And don’t cross her or she’ll cut you with her vicious words!” Octavia.

“Um, nice to meet-“

“And this is Octavia, my favorite little sister.” Bellamy interrupted.

“Nice to meet you Clarke. I’m on the security squad, you’ll see me roaming the halls occasionally.”

“Yeah, and don’t cross Octavia or she will literally cut you. Bitch be cray.” Raven.

“She scares us.” Monty (in a small voice).

“Nah, she’s just a little scrappy.” Bellamy.

“Quit it Bell, don’t touch me or I swear to god-“

 

The sound of scuffling ensued and Anya’s eyebrows shot up as she caught sight of Bellamy hitting the ground. The table was roaring with laughter as he hopped back to his feet and disappeared again.

 

“That’ll teach you.”

“You’re gonna pay for that later, little sis.”

“Watch yourself. You really need to learn how to respect personal boundaries, asshole.”

 

Lexa smirked. No shit. She went back to typing into her computer.

 

“Ahem. My name is Monty. It’s nice to meet you Clarke.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

“Monty is in IT as a software… something.” Bellamy.

“Developer. I design or improve system changes for… well, nevermind the details. It’s fun.”

“He sells himself short. He thinks and sometimes speaks in code and he’s a straight up genius. This man has diverted so many resources-“

 

Lexa’s ears perked up once again and she stopped typing to listen.

 

“Bellamy! Shut up, you dim-witted eyesore. I swear to god...” Raven.

Silence enveloped the table behind them as Lexa and Anya exchanged glances. There was a certain resource leak that they’d been unable to track down. They’d been working on it together for months and it seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. They were listening now. Anya scooted farther into the booth to avoid detection in case anyone got pushed out of the booth again. The conversation took a different turn, however.

 

“So… Clarke. What department are you in?” Octavia.

“I just started in the mailroom on Monday. I’m a Mailroom Clerk. I do the deliveries and other things as yet to be trained.”

“How do you like it?” Monty.

“Ah, it’s good I guess. I’m just having like, THE most embarrassing day. I keep stepping in it so bad.”

“Oooh, this sounds fun. Tell us more!” Raven.

“Well, it was actually going fine until I had to deliver to the auditor’s office.”

 

Anya gave Lexa a look. Lexa grimaced and looked away.

 

“Which one? Lexa or Anya?” Raven.

“There’s two of them? I didn’t know that. I was delivering to Lexa Woods.”

“Oh, nice. Lucky. Anya is straight up scary.” Monty.

 

Anya smirked and Lexa rolled her eyes.

 

“Uh yeah but Lexa isn’t much better. Once I was doing security rounds after closing and I ran into her at the copier. I tried to talk to her and she gave me the COLDEST shoulder. It was uncomfortable. She wouldn’t even respond to me.” Octavia.

“Uh, yeah, but didn’t you say she had headphones in?” Bellamy.

“Shut up Bell. You can hear someone talking to you over headphones. Especially her – you know she’s probably just listening to like piano sonatas or concertas or some weird shit like that.”

 

Anya’s eyebrows shot up and she grinned. Lexa shifted uncomfortably.

 

“So what happened with Lexa, Clarke?” Monty.

“Well I was just trying to be friendly and we were chatting and I thought we were getting along so I said we should have lunch-“

 

The group began roaring with laughter. Lexa felt her cheeks get red. Anya gave her an inscrutable look and Lexa returned it with a defiant one. Anya looked away as they continued to listen.

 

“Oh my god. You asked the Queen of Mean to have lunch with you?!” Bellamy.

“Shit, that’s ballsy. I think I like you, Griffin.” Raven.

“Wow.” Octavia.

“I think that’s really nice of you, Clarke. But we don’t mix with the auditors, it’s like a rule or something.” Monty.

“Yes, so she told me. It was so embarrassing. I was just trying to get to know her – I mean, she’s really attractive and-“

“Woah woah woah, hold up. Did you just call Lexa Woods attractive?!” Bellamy.

 

Lexa flushed from the roots of her hair to the base of her neck and refused to look at Anya, who was silently wheezing with laughter.

 

“Well she is, Bellamy. She’s just cold.” Octavia.

“I call bullshit. Her brown eyes and brown hair and brown suits are just boring. She’s like, not even cute.” Bellamy.

 

Lexa dropped her head in her hands and scooted deeper into the booth. She wished she could disappear. This was NOT a conversation she wanted to hear.

 

“Um, well I doubt she’s single, Clarke. Did you notice the pictures on her desk?” Monty.

“Oh, no I didn’t really get a chance to look around.”

“She has a bunch of family pictures all over the place, so…” Monty.

“Ah. Well, it doesn’t matter anyway, it’s not like I’d ever hit on someone at work. But this whole queen of mean thing? I didn’t get that vibe from her at all. She actually seemed really cool, like, really… I mean as I was leaving she was even said she wished she COULD have lunch with me but had to follow the rules.”

 

The table didn’t seem to know how to react to that. On the other side, Lexa looked up to find another inscrutable look on Anya’s face. She lifted her chin and picked up her laptop, determined to get back to work.

 

“Well, I think if you’re able to crack the exterior of Lexa Woods, you must have some kind of magic. We’re going to have to be friends, Griff. I need that to spill over onto me.” Raven.

“So what else happened to make this such a terrible day, Clarke?” Monty.

“Oh! Oh my god. So besides a few mix-ups with people’s mail and getting lost on the wrong floor once, I ended up scaring Niylah so bad she spilled coffee all over herself.”

“That doesn’t seem like too big of a deal.” Octavia.

“That’s not the big deal. When I saw what happened, I grabbed a bunch of towels and started drying her off. But I was basically just hitting her boobs with paper towels. She just like froze and didn’t say anything. It. Was. So. Awkward.”

 

Everyone started laughing again and Clarke groaned.

 

“I ran out of the room and right into Bellamy here, who hijacked me and brought me to lunch.”

“That is hilarious. But hey, you’ll probably have much better luck with Niylah than you would with Lexa. She’s very single… and fun, to boot.” Octavia.

“Oh my god, guys, she’s my boss.” Clarke.

“So? She’s cute. You’re cute. And everyone knows that people don’t stay mail clerks for long. What department do you want to work in, eventually?” Octavia.

“Probably Auditing.” Raven deadpanned.

The table laughed again and Lexa didn’t realize that her hands were frozen above the keyboard. 

“Honestly don’t know – I’m actually just finishing up art school right now. I figured maybe something in marketing or graphic design, but you know how it is. You have to start at the bottom.”

The conversation continued for several more minutes as the group joked and laughed, but eventually their lunch hour ended.

“Good meeting you Griffin. We’re here at the same place, same time, every day. Come eat with us whenever you want, yeah?” Raven.

The group left and Lexa sighed heavily.

“What the HELL, Lex?”

“I know.”

“Okay, we are talking about this shit. First, this RULE,” Anya made air-quotes. “About not fraternizing with co-workers? The fuck is that?”

“I consistently find that people are not amenable to my particular approach to socialization, Anya. While I generally disapprove of lying, I weighed the options and found that giving others a legitimate reason to not socialize with me relieves both parties of the discomfort of awkward discourse.”  

“Jesus, Lexa. You’re a fucking rockstar and if you let people get to know you, they’d see that too. You’re never going to get better at socializing if you don’t START socializing.”

Lexa was quiet for a moment as she pondered the words.

“I’m somewhat vexed at having not reached such a conclusion on my own. You make a solid point. Perhaps I do need to step out of my comfort zone.” She paused for a moment, then continued with “But god, Anya, I really despise small talk. Discussing one’s actions over a weekend or sharing pictures of pets or children is an inefficient use of company time.”

Anya rolled her eyes. “Did you hate the small talk with Clarke, earlier?”

Lexa began to nod but stopped. “Ah, no, actually. In fact, it felt less like small talk and more like… banter. She was very entertaining and… interesting.”

“And cute.” Anya added.

Lexa was nodding before she stopped herself and looked up. “Don’t be ridiculous, Anya.”

“Right. Whatever. Let’s finish lunch in your office. I’m getting hot out here.”

The women packed up their laptops and the remains of their lunches and headed inside. Neither of them noticed the lone figure in the shadows that watched them from the corner of one table over as they left. Monty wasn’t sure what to think about the conversation between Lexa and Anya. He kept trying to remember what all they may have overheard and kept coming back to Bellamy’s blurt about resources. Shit. He hoped they didn’t catch it, but he knew he was going to need to be extra careful.

  

* * *

 

There was a soft knock at the door.

“Come in.”

A mailroom cart came into view and Lexa’s pulse quickened. Clarke’s followed the cart in. She wore a chagrinned expression.

“Hi Lexa, I’m here with the afternoon deliv- Oh, hey there. I’m Clarke Griffin.”

Clarke walked around her cart and held her hand out to a surprised Anya.

“It’s nice to meet you, Clarke. I love those shoes you’re wearing, where’d you get them?”

Lexa looked to Anya, eyes wide. What in the hell?

“Oh these?” Clarke held her ankle out. “They were a gift from Amazon. I ordered a cheap pair of heels and they sent these along with the pair I’d ordered. I tried to send them back, but the seller said to just keep them as a gift.”

“Truly?” Anya frowned as she scrutinized them a little closer. “They’re Hermes, aren’t they?”

Clarke shrugged. “Not sure. They’re really well-made though. I’ve had them for a couple of years and they still look new.”

“Yes, that’s not surprising. If I’m not mistaken, that’s actually the exact pair I’ve had my eye on for a while now. I just couldn’t justify spending so much money on a single pair of shoes. You are… very… lucky.”

Clarke shrugged self-consciously.

“So you must be new around here, yes?”

Clarke nodded. “Yep, I started on Monday in the mailroom.”

Anya turned toward Clarke. “How do you like it so far? Meeting many people yet?”

Clarke’s eyes flashed briefly to Lexa’s before she looked back at Anya. “Uh, yes, actually. I was actually invited to lunch by this nice guy named Bellamy. He had a group of friends-“

“Oh! The delinquents!” Anya laughed. Lexa shifted uncomfortably.

“Sorry?” Clarke looked at her in confusion.

“Bellamy and Octavia Blake, then their friends Raven, John, Monty and Jasper – they’ve got a reputation around here. They pulled a prank at the last Christmas party. They switched out the names on all the secret santa gifts and everybody got really random things. It was hilarious.”

“It was unprofessional and they should have been reprimanded for it.” Lexa chimed in.

Clarke looked over at her as Anya waved her off. “Don’t be silly.” She looked at Clarke and whispered conspiratorially. “John Murphy, one of the delinquents, is the CEO’s kid. He gets away with whatever he wants.”

“Oh, that sounds… bad.” Clarke stammered. “I don’t think I’ve met him.”

Anya scoffed. “Not surprising. The guy only works about two days a week.”

Lexa cleared her throat. “Anya, that’s enough.”

Clarke’s eyes went wide. “YOU’RE Anya?!” she blurted.

The bark of surprised laughter from Anya reverberated loudly in the room.

“Yes, what were you expecting? Horns? I keep them covered with my lustrous locks.” She shook her long dark hair and winked at Clarke.

“Oh, no, I…” She struggled to recover.

“It’s fine, don’t worry. This place runs on rumors. You should have lunch with me tomorrow and I’ll share the best ones with you.” She turned around and winked at Lexa, who glared back.

“I thought the Auditors couldn’t have lunch with coworkers…”

Anya snapped her fingers. “Oh! That’s right! Damn. And we could’ve had so much fun…” she winked at Clarke and stood to her feet. “I have to run.” She turned to Lexa as she gathered her things. “Later Lex.” As she walked around Clarke, she stage-whispered “Lexa likes to set a lot of rules around here if you let her.”

And she was gone.

Clarke stared at the door for a moment, then turned back to Lexa, who was rubbing her forehead and looking pained.

“Hey… are you okay?”

Lexa looked up and smiled tightly. “Yes. Sorry about Anya. She doesn’t always know her place.”

Clarke shuffled on her feet. “Oh, I thought she was kind of funny.”

“I’m sure she thinks so.”

Clarke gave her a half smile. Lexa smiled back, more genuinely this time. “So you met Bellamy, huh?”

“Oh! Yeah, he was really nice. So were all of his friends. They invited me to have lunch with them again, we had a lot of fun.” She tentatively approached Lexa’s desk.

“I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t know about the rule and I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“Not at all. It’s not exactly a rule, per se, but more of an expectation.”

“By who?” Clarke asked absently, picking up a framed photograph on Lexa’s desk.

Lexa’s heart seized as she watched the other girl peer closely at the picture of her, Costia and Gus. In the picture, Lexa and Costia were kneeling down beside seven-year-old Gus, who was holding a squirming Labrador puppy. The silence stretched and Clarke looked up to see Lexa staring intently at the frame in her hands. She set it down.

“Is this your family?”

Lexa swallowed. “Yes. That’s… Costia. Um, Gus, and Daisy.”

Clarke watched Lexa intently as she spoke. After a second she cracked a smile. “Daisy, huh? Please tell me that’s your son’s name.”

Lexa’s eyebrows shot up. “Yes, that’s my son’s name.” She deadpanned.

Clarke’s eyes went wide. “Oh, god, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“

When Lexa cracked a smile, Clarke broke off. “Jerk. So when was this pic taken?”

“Almost three years ago.”

“You have a beautiful family.”

“Thank you.” Lexa shifted. Clarke frowned suddenly.

“Hey, your eyes are green!”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I just mean, I mean Bellamy said… um, nevermind. Uh… I have some more mail for you.” Clarke returned to her cart and grabbed several envelopes.

“So how long have you and Costia been together?” she asked as she handed the envelopes to Lexa.

Lexa gave her scrutinizing look. “We were together for four years.”

“Oh, past tense?” Clarke frowned.

“Um, yes.” Lexa shifted uncomfortably. “We separated two years ago.”

Clarke nodded. “Ah. That’s hard, especially when you have a kid. I was with my ex for about five years. He met someone else and left… though truth be told I should have ended it a year before he did. We were unhappy. I just can’t imagine doing it with a kid. That must be a lot to coordinate.”

Lexa leaned back in her chair. “We’ve worked out a schedule. Costia lives in Christchurch. Um, that’s in New Zealand. Gus spends summers and school breaks with her and stays with me for the rest of the school year.”

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “He just left on Monday, actually, to spend the summer with her. I miss him.”

Clarke frowned. “Wow, I can’t imagine spending that much time apart. When is he coming back?”

“In seventy-four days.”

“That’s a long time. Do you get to skype with him or anything?”

“Yeah and it helps, but it’s not the same. I never thought I’d hate coming home to an empty house, but…”

“What about Daisy?”

“Costia took her and-“ Lexa broke off and looked up. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be talking about this. Please… if you don’t mind, I’d rather you didn’t repeat any of this? I like to keep my work and private life separate.”

“Of course, I won’t say a word.” Clarke promised. She looked around for something to change the subject. “Oh, um… this may be an odd question but… what kind of music do you listen to?

Lexa thought back to the conversation she overheard at the table today. She smirked.

“Metal remixes of classical music.”

“Wait, really?”

“Thank you for the mail, Clarke. I’ll see you tomorrow.”


End file.
